


Important Life Lessons

by LexiTheDoubleedge



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Swimming, swimming lessons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:47:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24386152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexiTheDoubleedge/pseuds/LexiTheDoubleedge
Summary: After Monika's previous attempt at swimming ended in disaster, Sayori offers to give her some lessons.But swimming isn't the only thing that Monika needs to learn...(This is based on the events of the "Beach Trip" arc of the DDLC fancomic Doki Doki Literature Girls.)
Relationships: Monika/Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Kudos: 23





	Important Life Lessons

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Doki Doki Literature Girls!](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/625138) by Yui. 



> Since I had this idea before the group was summarily ejected from the beach, this takes place in an AU where that didn't happen. (Yet.)
> 
> Disclaimer: While I did do some research into teaching people to swim while writing this and have tried to present the subject reasonably, this story is not a substitute for instruction from someone who actually knows what they're doing.

"I know you said you don't know how to swim", Sayori said to Monika as the two of them waded into the water. "But do you have any kind of prior experience in the water?"

"There was a small pool in the park my parents took me to when I was little," Monika replied. "But the water was only about six inches deep, so it was just splashing around."

Sayori took that in with a small frown, one that went unseen as she led the way into the water. "Let's stop here for now," she added a bit later. The water was still fairly shallow here, only coming about a foot above their waists.

"What now?" Monika asked, looking at the water a bit apprehensively. She wouldn't say she was -afraid- of it now, but the experience of drowning had certainly made her a bit more wary. All the videos she'd watched had made it look so easy, too...

"We should probably start with the back float," Sayori said. "Once you're used to that, we can move on to things that are a bit more complicated."

For a little while the two stood there in silence before Monika gave in and asked "How do I do that?"

Sayori blinked. She wasn't really sure how to explain it now that she thought about it, she just did it. "You sort of lean back, like you were lying down on a bed, and twist?" She thought over what she'd just said, and decided that it probably wouldn't make sense if she didn't already know how to do it. "Never mind, just watch what I do."

Monika watched closely as Sayori went from standing in the water to floating on it and back a couple times. It didn't look that complicated... "Okay, I'll try it now," she said before quickly putting her words into action. The lying back part was easy enough, but actually lifting her feet off of the bottom felt a bit strange at first. She wondered if being in what was still fairly shallow water might actually be making that more difficult, it felt a bit more awkward than it seemed like it ought to.

She managed it in the end. Something about the experience had her feeling agitated though, and she had to force herself not to flail her arms - she'd had the importance of not doing -that- impressed on her already.

Then she felt Sayori take her hand. The gentle touch was reassuring without keeping her from moving freely in the water, and she was able to relax.

By the time they'd come out here, the sun had already set. Like the previous evening the full moon was providing plenty of light to see by. But unlike the night before, the sky was free of clouds. Monika had never learned to identify constellations, but she could still enjoy looking at the stars as her body rose and fell with the gentle waves.

"This is really easy," she noted after a while.

"Uh huh," Sayori replied. "That's why this is one of the most important skills to learn. A lot of people can float on their backs more or less forever as long as there aren't strong waves. So if you're tired you can back float to get some rest, and if you're in trouble it's usually still a good way to stay above water while you wait for rescue."

"And what if there are strong waves?" Monika asked.

"Then you shouldn't be swimming in them until you're more skilled," Sayori replied firmly.

"Heh," Monika replied drily. "The waves were actually going to be a bit more vigorous in my original plans, but I found it would take way too many system resources to simulate more complex water behavior, so things ended up like this instead... I guess it was for the best after all."

"Probably," Sayori replied. "Think you're ready to try something else now?"

"Sure," Monika said. "What should I do?"

Sayori let go of her hand, but Monika was feeling comfortable enough now that it didn't bother her. "Okay, now stretch your arms out above your head."

"Like this?"

"Yeah." Monika couldn't see what Sayori was doing, but she heard her moving through the water, and a bit later Sayori grabbed firmly onto both of her hands. Or at least, Monika was pretty sure it was both - she couldn't actually feel Sayori's grip on her artificial hand, but she could feel the pull through her arm, and it would make sense anyway. "Now start kicking your legs."

Monika obediently started kicking her legs. But... "Why am I doing this?" she asked.

"Welll... swimming on your back isn't actually great for swimming -to- anything, but it's a start. And this way you can watch what happens when you kick, so it's easier to improve your technique. You want as little splash as possible, since that means more of the energy will go into actually moving you."

"I see." Now that she knew what she was trying to accomplish, she could try moving her legs and feet in different ways. She wasn't sure it was making a lot of difference, but it didn't seem like she was kicking up as much water as before.

"If we were doing this in a pool, you'd hold onto the edge for this," Sayori added. "But since we're doing it here, you've got me instead."

"Yeah... I've got you..." Monika mumbled. This didn't seem in any way a disadvantage to her.

For a while both remained silent (other than the continued sound of Monika's feet stirring up the water). But finally Monika spoke up again. "Sayo? Thanks for helping me with this."

"No problem," Sayori replied. "Hey, Monika?"

"Yeah?"

"Why were you so determined to go swimming even though you didn't know how?" Sayori asked. "I don't think it's just because of what Anthy said, you were talking about it before that."

Monika stopped kicking, and for a moment everything was silent. "I guess... I just don't want to let everyone else down." Monika sighed. "It's really stupid, I'm supposed to be this great athlete, but I don't even know how to swim. But I thought hey, I can watch some videos to get the idea and figure out the rest as I go along..."

Sayori didn't respond immediately, and Monika was thinking about continuing her practice, but Sayori's voice interrupted her first. "Hey, Monika... can you stand back up now?" she said, releasing her grip on her girlfriend's hands.

"Okay," Monika replied. She hadn't really practiced this yet, but she was feeling a lot more comfortable in the water now, and had no trouble getting back on her feet. "Okay, now w-aaaaahh!?" she squeaked in surprise as she felt Sayori's arms wrapping around her.

"Monika? Do you remember that conversation we had, when we decided to soft loop the world?" Sayori asked.

"I remember," Monika replied. "I didn't really handle that very well either."

Monika couldn't see it, but she could tell Sayori was shaking her head now. "It all worked out in the end, and even though Yuri was upset about it for a while she understood when we told her what the price would be."

Monika shrugged. She didn't really know where Sayori was going with this.

"Anyway, what's important is... it's okay if you can't do something. We don't need a goddess and we don't care about how well you can keep up the perfect student act. You're our friend, and you're here with us... that's what matters."

"Maybe you're right," Monika replied. "It's just... it's hard sometimes." 

"Mmm," Sayori replied, giving her a quick squeeze. "Just remember that we're all here for you. You don't have to deal with everything yourself."

"I'll... I'll try," Monika replied. She wasn't sure it'd be that easy, but...

Sayori made a pleased sound and gave her another squeeze before letting go. "We should head back to our room now," she said. "It's getting late, and you do need to get more sleep... we can show you some more tomorrow."

"'We'?" Monika asked.

"I'm sure everyone else will want to help too."

Ugh, Sayori was really going for it right off the bat, wasn't she? And Monika still felt a bit uncomfortable showing her lack of skill in front of the others. (Even if everyone knew already.)

But...

"Okay," Monika replied. "Let's go back."

Somehow, it didn't seem like as bad of an idea as it would have the day before.

**Author's Note:**

> a small pool - The mental image I had in mind was one in a park I visited once when I was younger, although I never actually went in it.
> 
> swimming on your back isn't actually great for swimming -to- anything - That's what I've read anyway. Not because you can't cover ground that way, but because in open water it's easy to get turned around.
> 
> she understood when we told her what the price would be - Has not been shown in the comic, but I'm assuming at some point they told her about how moving on would require Monika to give up the rest of her life to create content for the others.


End file.
